by Alex Bardos

Created on: September 06, 2008   Last Updated: January 18, 2012

Monster is famous for their high-quality and high-price cables. What makes these cables worth so much? Is it the gold-plated connections? No, it's really not. Monster cables, when compared to other cables, perform only average, and often not as well. When it comes to the transmission of data, no cable you buy is going to make that data source better than it started. Cables can't magically make your video better than it was. These marketing gimmicks are great and all, but when it comes down to the truth, what are you getting for that extra money?

You see, it all bubbles down to the data being transmitted across the cables. An RCA jack transmits an analog signal, which modifies the frequency of the electricity within it to transmit data, much like an FM radio. However, the voltage being transferred is still extremely low (which is why you could lick an RCA jack and it won't hurt you), and is subject mainly to interference from other electronics. The truth is, a metal coat hanger will transmit data just as well as a Monster cable.

Dr. Bob Dean, in a report on this phenomenon, conducted a test, involving a set of Monster cables and some simple copper wire with a PVC insulator, and found that out of 5 self-professed "audiophiles", only 2 could guess which cable was the Monster cable. Afterwards, he also tried comparing Monster Cables to a pair of twisted coat hangers, and none of the audiophiles were able to determine which recording was played through the Monster cables (http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showpost.php?s= 97d4a3c39d247bf955a57b3953326a34&p=15412&postcount=28). To put it lightly, Monster was no better than the competition.

Carrying right along, what about that "gold plating" most companies like to advertise? Well, truth be told, it's just that - a plating. The electrical signal is still travelling through the same wire, unless you bought a solid gold wire. All that gold coating is doing is adding another layer of junk for the electricity to travel through. Sure, gold is great at transferring energy, but in this case, it's not necessary. Any old aluminum connector is going to work just as well in the end.

To put it simply, what Monster sells is a sense of security. We want to believe that what we just paid a large amount of money for is going to be better than the cheaper alternative. But to be completely honest with you, my home TV runs data through a $10 HDMI cable, and it works just as well as any Monster cable I've ever seen demonstrated.

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